Prom night

EAT THE VEGETABLES FIRST !!

Ok I know that the prospect of eating the vegetables seems kind of bland in comparison to the prospect of eating the beer battered chips and lamb steak but really it is the best option.

You see as I discovered tonight if you eat the yummy steak first followed closely by the delicious beer battered chips (purchased implusely after seeing them on the ad) and then what was left? the vegetables. And how apertising did they look after I have taken my sweet time to eat the rest of my meal? not very!

So my solution to this mamoth problem is to make yourself eat the vegetables first. Trust me it will make your whole meal better.

:)

Tom's chicken

Since it was such a sucess the last two times he served it I thought it was only right to let the world have access to it.

Chicken tenderlions with sweet plum sauce

1 kg chicken tenderlions
flour with salt pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup port
1/2 cup plum sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp seeded mustard

Toss chicken in the flour and shake off excess. Heat oil in a large pan then cook half the chicken at the time until golden brown. Remove from pan and keep warm. Add plum sauce, soy, mustard and port to the pan, scraping up the browned flour into the sauce. Cook for one minute and then add chicken back to pan and stir. Serve immediately with rice.

Winter Solstice

Finally it is Friday night and the weekend is here!

Wednesday of this week was the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year.
That sounds bad until you realise that it also means it was also the longest night in the year!! All that time to sleep.

I have been very sleepy this week and I am blaming all the night!! With that much darkness how could I not want to sleep all the time?

Speaking of which......zzzzzzzz

In case you have forgotten

I wasn't sure if you all remembered how beautiful my wedding dress was. So here I am as a reminder.

Some might say I went over the top. But I think it was just right.

The public urinals of Rothesay

These victorian fixtures are located at the pierhead "Public Convinence" at Rothesay, Isle of Bute, just off the west coast of Scotland. I went here with my Mum and Grandma on my holiday. We all crept into the mens to have a look at the famous toilets. It was hilarious.

Shoes for Ness

How cool are these?

Perfect for your collection Ness

still sick

the fish are still sick

I think we will need to go back to the vet to get some more drugs for them

:(

not happy Jan.

sick fish

:(

Our fish are sick. It is very sad

We had to go to the vet the other day to get them medication because it was a schedule 2 drug and not available over the counter. I have never been to a vet before but let me tell you it was strange to be there without a pet. We couldn't move the fish so Tom and I went to the vet by ourselves. Tom did a great job explaining what was wrong with the fish and the vet gave us three days worth of the medication. Sadly the medication hasn't worked as well as we hoped and the fish are still sick.

Sick fish. It is very sad

:(

Friday night

Thank goodness for Friday.

I love coming home from work and knowing that there is no work tomorrow - it is so energising. I mean I always have more energy to go out or stay up late on Friday than any other night of the week. Although having said that I still like to go to bed early where possible.

Tomorrow will be more work in the garden and afternoon tea with my friends. I am looking forward to it. Kitty is making chocolate brownies -Yum! And it will be great to see Ben he is walking and talking now - how quickly children grow up.

This weekend I am not going to spend as much money as last weekend. That won't be hard so long as we don't go to trade tools or Crabtree & Evelyn.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Thanks Tom!

Tom had a flex day today and bought me Rosewater Fine Linen Wash from Crabtree and Evelyn!



Thanks Baby! You are the best.

Tapas and Sangria

Tonight we went to a Spanish Tapas Restaurant in the Valley. We drank Sangria and ate beautiful tapas. A great night was had by all.

Here is a recipe for Spanish Sangria.

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups ( 26 fl. oz) dry red wine
1 tablespoon sugar
Juice of 1 large orange
Juice of 1 large lemon
1 large orange, sliced thin crosswise
1 large lemon, sliced thin crosswise
2 medium peaches, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1 cup (8 fl. oz) club soda

Preparation

Combine all the ingredients except for the club soda in a large punch bowl or serving pitcher, mixing well. Refrigerate overnight. Immediately before serving, mix in the club soda for added fizz. Ladle into cups with ice cubes.

Rain

Finally some rain for Brisbane...
It has rained all day today.

That means that we have not done any work in the garden today. Instead we went shopping at Carindale, Bunnings and Trade tools.

Thanks Tom

Tom bought me Lavender Fine Linen Wash from Crabtree and Evelyn today!

Thanks Baby! I love it.

Sultana biscuits

125 g butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 T milk

1 dessert spoon golden syrup

1 t baking soda

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 cup sultanas

1 t vanilla essence

In a large saucepan melt butter, then add sugar, milk, syrup and soda, mixing until it fizzes. Remove from heat and leave to cool. Stir in flour, sultanas and vanilla essence. Mix well. Roll into little golf balls and place on a well-greased or baking-paper-lined tray. Press down with a wet fork. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 160C. Leave on the baking tray for one minute then carefully remove to a wire rack to cool.

Toast and heaters

There is nothing better than toast.
except maybe heaters....

I don't think I need to say anything more.

Gift Suggestions

In case I forget - these are five products from Crabtree and Evelyn that I want.

The Summer Hill handcream, Summer Hill hangers, Lavander hangers, the Lavender Fine Linen wash and the Citus Handwash.

Placemats

How nice are the placemats I brought back from Scotland??!!

And check out the beautiful roses Tom bought me!

Under the Coral Tree

In the back yard there is a big tree - a Coral tree. The photo on the left is how I want the area under the tree to look!

Cool hey?

Pizza Hut and Housework

Tom and I went to Pizza Hut today for lunch. $11.95 seemed like good value for all you can eat pizza. pasta and desert. But what I didn't factor was how crappy I would feel after eating all the junk food. I was in a bad mood all afternoon and continually tried to pick fights with poor Tom. Luckliy for me (and him) Tom was smart enough to recognise the cause of my bad mood.

Mental note: No more junkfood for Suse!

The only other thing I managed to do today was four loads of washing - housework sux.